Page 60 of Breaking the Ice

“Hey,” Zach said, catching his attention as he flopped down onto the weight bench.

It had also been a whole lot fucking easier before Zach’s classes had started up and his gym schedule had changed. Somehow he always ended up in the staff gym at the exact same fucking time as Gavin.

And well . . .Gavin wasn’t blind.

Zach was very attractive. And when he was sweaty and hot, worked up from physical activity? It was like staring into the sun.

“Hey,” Gavin said, nodding at him. He turned back to the leg press he was using, hoping that Zach would get the memo that he was ready to focus now.

Usually Zach was equally focused in the gym—and Gavin didn’t want to appreciate the results of that, but it was hard not to, these days—but to his surprise, he sauntered over, appearing in the corner of his vision as he began another set.

“You talked to Brody recently?” Zach asked.

“All the time,” Gavin said, grunting, definitely feeling the extra ten pounds he’d slid onto the rack.

He didn’t want to use the phrasesexual frustration,even in his own head, but it was definitely something that sent him to the gym this often and saw him working this hard.

“I mean, about more than just regular hockey shit,” Zach said. He was leaning against the machine now, hip cocked. He was wearing thin basketball shorts, riding high on his thighs, and an old T-shirt he’d cut the sleeves out of.

Gavin could see a lot of skin. Skin he was trying really fucking hardnot to look at.

“No, not really, I guess. Is there a problem? Is he okay?” Gavin hadn’t been worried about Brody. They were winning. The top line was producing at a ridiculous rate, even as Elliott and Mal continued bickering. The defense was tight. Finn seemed stressed and anxious at points, but overall, seemed to be handling it.

Zach hesitated. “I think so? I don’t know. He seems . . .off to me. Quiet.”

“He’s always pretty quiet,” Gavin offered. At least that was the impression he’d gotten over the last two months.

“Yeah, he is. But I think even quieter the last week.”

Gavin finally finished his set and let out a gust of breath. His quads were burning, in a really good way thatalmostdistracted him from the little flashes of biceps-pecs-abs that he kept trying to ignore.

“You want me to talk to him?” He finally couldn’t put it off anymore and looked up at Zach.

He looked a little worried—that crease between his eyebrows that Gavin wanted to reach up and smooth away—but also really, really good.

Too good.

It was so much easier to compartmentalize these feelings when they were working or Zach was completely clothed or when they were in their respective houses, on the phone at night.

“No, I’ll do it. I think it’ll be better coming from me,” Zach said. “Or maybe I should ask Ramsey.”

“Ask Ramsey. That’s probably the best place to start.”

Zach nodded. “It’s not his hockey. That’s solid.”

“Agreed,” Gavin said. “I know he’s taking a pretty serious load of classes.”

“He is—you know he’s a bio major, right?”

“Yeah.”

Zach’s expression was a little wistful. “Sometimes I wonder if I didn’t make a mistake, not taking school more seriously when I was here the first time around.”

“You knew what you wanted,” Gavin said. Zachhad. He’d been incredibly focused, only seeing college as a necessary steppingstone to the NHL. They’d both worked hard to make his dream a reality.

Was it any wonder how shocked he’d been when Zach had come to him this summer and admitted he wasn’t playing professionally anymore?

“Funny how that changes,” Zach said wryly. “How what we think we want isn’t what we want at all.” His gaze slid over Gavin, the look in his eyes knowing, and Gavin flushed.